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LOPSIDED TEAM VICTORIES THE BIG STORY AT 2007 IHSA NATIONALS Since the start of the new millennium several IHSA teams have repeatedly faired well at the organization's year-end national show. Mount Holyoke won the hunter seat championship in both 2000 and 2006 while earning reserve high point team honors in 2005. Ohio State University won the western championship outright in 2006 while tieing Texas A & M for the honor in 2002. In 2001 the Buckeyes were runner-up to the University of Findlay. The 2001 IHSA National show saw both the Findlay western and Findlay hunter seat teams win the IHSA National Championship, the only time in the organization's 40-year history that the same school finished a season on top in both categories. The Findlay western team was also a winner in 2005, while the Findlay hunter seat team was reserve high point team in both 2003 and 2004. The Findlay english team missed out by only one point in '04, as Virginia Intermont College captured their first National Championship by a 27-26 margin. VI repeated in '05, scoring 34 points and essentially locking up the title by the seventh team class. Though Virginia Intermont started well at '06 Nationals, their champion streak ended at two. When 2007 IHSA Nationals were completed, it was safe to say that each of the aforementioned teams held one of the top two team placings. However the gaps between first place and second were more than noticable, perhaps wide enough to drive an ocean liner through! Virginia Intermont apparently tied the widest margin of victory in hunter seat (12 points) while Findlay set a new all-time high in Western Team Points at an IHSA National show (38) and widest margin of victory (20 points) for english or western. While Findlay won the first hunter seat team class of 2007 IHSA Nationals via Becky Baumel in novice fences, Virginia Intermont then proceeded to win the next three, all on the first day. Jessica May (team intermediate flat), Julianne Wilson (team novice flat) and Jennifer Kelly (team walk-trot-canter) earned 21 points while Jessica Warner had placed third versus Baumel to start the day. Virginia Intermont's 25 points through four divisions were two more than Mount Holyoke had scored in winning 2006 Nationals outright. Though VI had a huge day one, Findlay was not far behind, having earned 18 points. Three classes on day two saw VI add nine more points, including a second for Jamie King in team walk-trot. Now at 34, VI had tied their 2005 score and had eliminated the field. Findlay and Brown University had 21 each while defending champ Mount Holyoke was at 18. Mount Holyoke would win the eighth and final team class on the morning of day three, earning a tie for reserve with Findlay at 25 points each. Mount Holyoke senior Nathalie Cooper could claim to be the most decorated hunter seat rider of 2007 IHSA Nationals, winning both team open classes, placing third in both individual open flat and the Cacchione Cup Competition and also earning a sixth in individual open fences. While Cooper was winning the team open fences, VI's Brittany Denton earned a fourth, raising her team's final number to 37 points. Virginia Intermont Head Coach Eddie Federwisch wondered aloud what the highest point total ever for a hunter seat team might be. We at Campus Equestrian do not have the actual scores from most of the team competitions prior to 1992. However since that time VI's 34 in 2005 had been the top score. Their 37 point effort knocks their previous high out of the books, while their 12 point margin of victory over Mount Holyoke and Findlay ties the 'known' margin of victory set by Hollins in 1993 (Hollins Head Coach Nancy Peterson was awarded the 2007 IHSA Lifetime Achievement award during the midday festivities on day three. One of her many achievements was ending Southern Seminary's 13-year streak of region championships and subsequently winning 1993 Nationals by a 30-18 margin over both Centenary College and Colorado State University - Editor). While the Findlay hunter seat team was reserve champion for the third time since 2003, the Oilers' western team made a triumpant return after having not qualified for the '06 competition. Though the highest hunter seat team score at an IHSA National show is still in doubt, the Findlay western team removed any doubt about the western record. Since the western team competition grew to six divisions starting in 2004 (when the novice division was added), the previous 'best' was 28 for 2004 National Champion Texas A & M University. Findlay proceeded to win the first three western team classes and eventually earned five blue ribbons in six attempts. Ryan Sims (team novice western), James Frebes (team advanced western), Travis Womer (team open reining), Raffi Kechejian (team intermediate western) and Trevor Dare (team open western) were all winners for the Oilers while Aubrey Kuczerepa placed fourth in team beginner to complete the scoring. When added up, Findlay earned 38 of a possible 42 points, scoring more than any hunter seat team in the past 15 years even though the english riders have two more divisions to compete in! IHSA Founder and Executive Director Bob Cacchione thinks Ohio State had a big day sometime during the 1990's which may rival this. However that score would not have exceeded 35 points based on only five divisions competing at that time. The highest western score Campus Equestrian could confirm prior to 2004 was 30 of a possible 35 points earned by New Mexico State University in 1998. And even in that case the champions earned only three blue ribbons out of five. But perhaps the most amazing statistic of the entire event was the margin of victory for the Oiler's western team. Defending National Champion Ohio State was reserve with 18 points, less than half of the Findlay total. Though we at Campus Equestrian will give others the benefit of the doubt about unconfirmed records, we will be very surprised if any previous Western or English IHSA National Champion Team (since 1979 when an actual team competition took place at the National show) finished 20 points ahead of their nearest competitor.
Though there was cause for celebration in both the Findlay and Virginia Intermont camps at the conclusion of the show, the mood was somber prior to the start of the first class during the Thursday/opening day session. It had been 17 days since Emily Jane Hilsher and 31 others lost their lives in the Virginia Tech shootings. Hilsher was a freshman and a member of the Virginia Tech Equestrian Team who had made her IHSA debut at a pair of Zone 4, Region 3 shows hosted by Virginia Intermont on February 20th and 21st. Though a fund had already been set up at Virginia Tech in Hilshers' name, the IHSA began raising money for what may be a separate scholarship in her memory. Chicago Maroon-colored elastic bracelets with the inscriptions "Learn from the Past" and "Invent the future" written in Burnt Orange were sold at Nationals for $3.00 each (these are the Virginia Tech school colors while 'invent the future' is an official slogan at the Blacksburg, Virginia school). Cacchione went on a local radio station the day before Nationals to discuss both the show and the IHSA's efforts to raise money for the Hilsher scholorship. By Saturday afternoon the radio station claimed that over $10,000.00 had been raised! Prior to the start of the show, a moment of silence was observed for Hilsher and the other victims. Former Mount Holyoke rider and current Mount Holyoke Assistant Coach Gillian McPhee then played 'Taps' on a trumpet. Marie Hilliard, who graduated from Mount Holyoke in December (but would compete in individual novice fences having qualified during the fall) sang the National Anthem. The entire Virginia Intermont team wore Virginia Tech caps; These caps would also be worn by VI during the parade of teams on Saturday. Though the show itself started at 8:53AM that morning, with Jennifer Cumming of Virginia Intermont the first rider in the ring for individual intermediate fences, corespondents from both NBC Affiliate WWLP-TV and ABC Affiliate WGGB-TV arrived to interview both Virginia Tech Head Coach Teresa McDonald and Hokie novice fences qualifier Lindsey Woodburn (who would place 10th in the division later that day). As of May 18th, WWLP-TV's clip of the opening ceremonies and interviews was still available on their web site (http://weather.wwlp.com/search?artID=450862 and then click on 'watch video'). It is not known if either station preserved any of Travis Womer's round over the intermediate fences, but Womer would provide yet another footnote for both the Findlay and IHSA record books. From Camarillo, California, Womer won both the individual intermediate fences which started the show, and the individual open reining three days later. Though the IHSA was celebrating its' 40th anniversary this weekend, on no prior occasion had an IHSA rider won both an individual english and an individual western class at the same IHSA National show.
According to Findlay Western Head Coach Cindy Morehead, the Oilers had a rider in every individual and team western class for the first time in school history. Findlay had hunter seat riders in four of the eight individual classes as well as all eight team classes, including Baumel who won team novice fences within an hour after Womer had won individual intermediate. The first non-Findlay rider to win a class was Skidmore College junior Jessica Schroff, who won the individual open over fences. The next two individual classes went to the same person. Centenary College junior Rachel Samuels won both the individual novice over fences and the individual novice flat, with one flat phase of the Cacchione Cup and blues for May and Wilson in the team classes inbetween. Findlay sophomore Zoe Steele-Rand won the fifth and final individual class of the day, earning a first in walk-trot-canter before Kelly won team walk-trot-canter to finish the day one schedule. Former College of Southern Idaho open rider Meghan Sederholm probably won't find herself in the IHSA record book for this, but Sederholm did something few if any could ever claim. When the day two session began on Friday, Sederholm was the first rider to compete in alumni fences. Sederholm was on course at 8:32AM, yet 12 hours later she was in the ring again. Sederholm was last in the order of go for her pattern in alumni reining, which happenned to be the final class of the day. Sederholm is perhaps the only IHSA rider ever to start and conclude the actual riding portion of a given day at Nationals. The 2006 Southern Idaho graduate also competed in alumni flat, though her only ribbon of the day was an eighth in alumni reining (Sederholm did place fourth in alumni western horsemanship the next day however). 2002 Brown University graduate Amanda Forte also secured a place in the IHSA record books. Forte won the alumni fences, becoming the first IHSA rider ever to win the prestigious Cacchione Cup (in 2001) and later win an alumni class at Nationals. The fences phase of the Cacchione Cup followed, and team intermediate fences followed that. Nora Crist earned seven of Centenary's nine team points when the sophomore won team intermediate fences. May earned four more points for VI with a third in this division. Drew University Assistant Coach Sandra Sayre had three previous wins in alumni flat but was not qualified this time around. However 2006 Drew graduate Kristine Kennedy, who competed in both the '05 and '06 Cacchione competitions was. Kennedy became the first Drew graduate other than Sayre to win an alumni division at IHSA Nationals, claiming the blue in alummi flat. The first heat of the individual AQHA Trophy division followed, with team open flat after that. Cooper won for the next-to-last time as an undergraduate while Sims won the first western team class of the competition, finishing one place ahead of Ohio State's Hilary Bedford in novice western. For the first time since 2001 a rider not from Zone 1 won the individual walk-trot. From both Norway and the United States, dual citizen Karen Lone of Stanford University earned the blue ribbon in walk-trot. Middle Tennessee State senior Sarah McKee had finished third behind Sims and Bedford in team novice western, but in individual intermediate western horsemanship she was second to no one. The individual who helped provide Campus Equestrian with the results of the Semifinals held in Murfreesboro on March 24th won individual intermediate. Stephanie Carmack of Brown was one placing better than King in team walk-trot, but King's five points guaranteed the championship for Virginia Intermont nonetheless. Frebes then proceeded to win team advanced western while 2001 Middle Tennessee State graduate Jessica Schultz won a lengthy alumni reining division to end the day two schedule. The third day of Nationals was essentially divided into two halves. The first half was the remaining four english classes, the second half was five western classes while various festivities, including the yearly Parade of Teams were in the middle. Cooper won team open fences to start the day, allowing Mount Holyoke to leapfrog Brown and tie Findlay for reserve high point hunter seat team. Six riders had been invited back for a work-off following the flat and fences phases of the Cacchione Cup. Four of these six riders were then invited for a second test, after which Brittany Denton of Virginia Intermont was awarded fourth, Cooper third, Callie Schott of the University of Kentucky reserve champion and University of Virginia junior Whitney Roper grand champion. From Rumson, New Jersey, Roper was making her IHSA Nationals debut. Her scores of 82 on the flat and 83 over fences had been third best in each, but the work-off moved Roper ahead of the field. Prior to the final individual english classes and the parade there was the presentation of hunter seat team ribbons. When Virginia Intermont walked into the middle of the ring to accept their awards they brought McDonald, Woodburn and both the Virginia Intermont team banner and a Virginia Tech flag with them. A moment of silence was once again observed (many on hand for Saturday's schedule had not been present on Thursday morning) followed by a 'Let's Go Hokies' chant for almost a minute. Miami of Ohio senior Lindsay Barton won the individual intermediate flat a short time later, while the final english class of 2007 went to Findlay senior Katie Johnston. Johnston's first in individual open flat gave the Oilers three of the eight individual hunter seat awards.
The Parade of teams followed, as well as the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement award to Nancy Peterson. Selected by the former Lifetime Achievement award winners, Peterson has been involved with the Hollins program since 1972 and with the IHSA since 1976. Her 1993 and 1998 teams won the IHSA hunter seat National Championship. Shortly after the presentation, USEF President David O'Connor arrived after having flown up from another event in the Baltimore area. O'Connor signed autographs and helped present awards for several of the western team classes which followed. Team open reining was the first western class of the Saturday session, with the first rider in the ring at 3:43PM. Womer won with St. Mary of the Woods senior Christina Ecker reserve champion. Schultz won the second of her two alumni blue ribbons in alumni western horsemanship while the individual open western championship went to Cazenovia senior Meghan Dauler, relegating Trevor Dare to a red ribbon in the process. This would mark the only time Dare would participate in a 2007 Nationals class and finish behind someone who was not a Findlay teammate. Team beginner followed, with Jessica Kraemer of Oregon State earning some recognition as the only rider not from Findlay to win a western team class. Sarah Joy of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln was second while Crystal Hall of Middle Tennessee State was third. The individual AQHA Trophy reining phase was next, followed by the awarding of the trophy in the middle of the ring. Dauler placed fifth overall, while University of Montana - Western senior Clairessa Kaler took fourth place. Third went to Oregon State senior Sydney Rogers-Goode, who was actually a replacement for one of the original qualifiers. Reserve went to Ohio State sophomore Keith Ceddia, who had the second best reining score of 143.5. Dare, a freshman from Hilliard, Ohio, won the AQHA, giving Findlay three straight wins in the division. Womer won it last season, while Findlay Assistant Coach Jake Bowman won in '05. This marked the first time that three separate riders from the same school won this honor three seasons in a row. Dare's reining score of 145 was the highest of any kind at 2007 Nationals, until the Sunday session that is! Of the six classes held on Sunday, May 6th only two were western team classes. Findlay senior Adam Smith, who only two seasons earlier finished second to Womer in individual novice western at '05 Nationals, won the advanced western division to start the day. Findlay entered the team intermediate western division in need of only three points to eliminate the field. Kechejian, who had ridden in team walk-trot-canter three days earlier, clinched the national championship with a first in team intermediate western. Dare had been phenomenal during the reining phase of the individual AQHA the previous evening, making everything look almost effortless while others struggled with transitions or to keep from over or under-spinning. Dare again froze everyone in their tracks with a complete command of his draw during the NRHA-sponsored individual open reining division. Dare went early and scored a 144.5. However toward the end of the round it was teammate Womer's turn. The two had been involved in close race for Zone 6, Region 3 high point western rider honors, with Dare coming from behind to win 102-99 and earn the right to compete at Nationals for the AQHA Trophy. This time Womer had the upper hand, earning a 146 score, the best of any western rider at 2007 Nationals. With the top four riders in this division automatically earning entry into the Collegiate Reining Championship at the NRHA 'Derby' in Oklahoma City on May 19th, the results of this division are among the most anticipated throughout the entire show. Ceddia of Ohio State was fourth (and like Rogers-Goode the previous evening he was a late replacement) while Utah State University freshman Jason Romney was third. Dare finished second while Womer won in his final IHSA (undergraduate) ride. Others who will compete at the Derby in search of the Collegiate Reining Championship are NCAA qualifiers Katie Bohr of Oklahoma State, Carrie Von Uhlit of Texas Christian, Sara Weller of Kansas State and Maddi Williams of Texas A & M, while Kate Locker of the University of Georgia, Ashley Griffith and Lindsay Jordan of Auburn University and Heather Dudley of Penn State - Edinboro were selected based on other criteria. Both Bohr and Weller have previous IHSA experience. Griffith (whose Father Ollie and Mother Debbie coach Ohio State), Womer and Ceddia will all be returnees from the '06 Derby competition, during which 2006 IHSA individual open western horsemanship champion Jamie Abel of Morrisville State College was Champion while Ceddia was reserve (Update: Womer went on to win the Collegiate Reining Championship at the Derby, while teammate Dare was Reserve. The Reining scores and complete placings have been added to the end of this story - Editor). There were quite a few riders who arrived in Springfield with a western hat in one hand and an ASTM-approved helmet in another. Stanford senior Kate Farrell was yet another of the many riders who competed in both english and western disciplines at some point over the four-day weekend. Farrell won the individual beginner western division, giving the Cardinal one individual english and one individual western blue ribbon at 2007 Nationals, a claim only they and Findlay can make! With all the talk about Findlay setting records the Oilers were taken OUT of the record books with the results of individual novice western. Since the division was introduced for the 2003-04 season only riders from Findlay had ever left Nationals with the blue ribbon in this division. Not so anymore, as Ohio State sophomore Natalie Norval won the next-to-last IHSA class of 2007. The final division was team open western horsemanship, with Dare finishing one place ahead of Oregon State sophomore Sara Gibson for yet another Findlay blue ribbon. In the coming weeks Campus Equestrian will prepare separate stories breaking down the results of 2007 IHSA Nationals even further (these stories will cover the English and Western Team Competitions, the English and Western winners from the Individual Classes, the Alumni Divisions, the Individual AQHA Trophy and the Cacchione Cup in greater detail). Until then, if you have the IHSA Nationals english team results from 1979 through 1992 or any Nationals western team results from 1996 or earlier we would like to hear from you so we may clear up various record book issues. ---Steve Maxwell The following is a list of the Class-by-Class Results from IHSA Nationals, held May 3rd through May 6th, 2007 at the Eastern States Exposition (also known simply as "The Big E") in West Springfield, Massachusetts. Classes are listed in the order in which they were held. All competitors from the individual classes, whether they placed or not, are listed. Following the list are the English and Western Team Totals. Thursday, May 3th: Individual intermediate equitation over fences: Collegiate Cup novice equitation over fences: 1. Becky Baumel,
University of Findlay. 2. Rachel Griffith, Brown University.
3. Jessica Warner, Virginia Intermont College. 4. Elizabeth Bracken,
Cazenovia College. 5. Jennifer Piechowski, University of Delaware.
6. Katherine Petro, Penn State University. Individual open equitation over fences: Individual Novice Equitation over Fences: Collegiate Cup intermediate equitation on the flat: 1. Jessica May, Virginia Intermont College. 2. Ashley Gallo, University of Findlay. 3. Carly Swatek, University of Wisconsin at Madison. 4. Sarah Smith, Berry College. 5. Christine Gunn, Mount Holyoke College. 6. Hawthorne Hart, Skidmore College. Collegiate Cup novice equitation on the flat: 1. Julianne Wilson, Virginia Intermont College. 2. Emma Bogdonoff, Brown University. 3. Sharla Englerth, Cazenovia College. 4. Zoe Steele - Rand, University of Findlay. 5. Sarah Pandolfini, Goucher College. 6. Lena Ohta, Penn State University. Individual Novice Equitation on the Flat: Individual walk-trot-canter equitation: Collegiate Cup walk-trot-canter equitation: 1. Jennifer Kelly, Virginia Intermont College. 2. Emily Coler, Mount Holyoke College. 3. Allie Wetzel, Berry College. 4. Raffi Kechejian, University of Findlay. 5. Heather Bowen, Centenary College. 6. Laura Wilder, West Texas A & M University. Friday, May 4th: Alumni equitation over fences: Collegiate Cup intermediate equitation over fences: 1. Nora Crist, Centenary College. 2. Kelli Parsons, Purdue University. 3. Jessica May, Virginia Intermont College. 4. Jen Mondazzi, Cazenovia College. 5. Dani Corkill, Mount Holyoke College. 6. Julia Nichols, College of Charleston. Alumni equitation on the flat: Collegiate Cup Open Equitation on the Flat: 1. Nathalie Cooper, Mount Holyoke College. 2. Diana Glenney, University of Kentucky. 3. Whitney Keefe, Brown University. 4. Katie Johnston, University of Findlay. 5. Kristina Christiansen, University of Delaware. 6. Jonathan Cohen, Goucher College. AQHA Novice Western Horsemanship: 1. Ryan Sims, University of Findlay.
2. Hilary Bedford, Ohio State University. 3. Sarah McKee, Middle Tennessee
State University. 4. Kristine Thompson, West Texas A & M University.
5. Rebecca Smith, Black Hawk College. 6. Deborah Simmers - Shahadey, St.
Mary of the Woods College. Individual Walk-Trot Equitation: Individual Intermediate Western Horsemanship: Collegiate Cup Walk-Trot Equitation: 1. Stephanie Carmack, Brown University. 2. Jamie King, Virginia Intermont College. 3. Elise - Marie Menke, Stanford University. 4. Emily Janosko, University of Delaware. 5. Kate Miller, Mount Holyoke College. 6. Lyndsey Renken, College of Charleston. AQHA Advanced Western Horsemanship: 1. James Frebes, University of
Findlay. 2. Dana Grupe, St. Mary of the Woods College. 3. Courtney Douglas,
West Texas A & M University. 4. Natalie Norval, Ohio State University.
5. Brooke Sproull, Oregon State University. 6. Whitney Herron, Middle
Tennessee State University. Alumni Reining: Saturday, May 5th: Collegiate Cup Open Equitation over Fences: 1. Nathalie Cooper, Mount Holyoke College. 2. Ashley Woodhouse, Skidmore College. 3. Laura Baldine, University of Findlay. 4. Brittany Denton, Virginia Intermont College. 5. Whitney Keefe, Brown University. 6. Lauren Brown, Berry College. USEF Cacchione Cup Competition: 1. Whitney Roper, University of Virginia. 2. Callie Schott, University of Kentucky. 3. Nathalie Cooper, Mount Holyoke College. 4. Brittany Denton, Virginia Intermont College. 5. Whitney Keefe, Brown University. 6. Kaitlyn Kleck, University of Oregon. 7. Ashley Delzer, Michigan State University. 8. Ashley Woodhouse, Skidmore College. 9. Katie Carssow, University of Pennsylvania. 10. Andrew Olen, Franklin & Marshall College. Individual Intermediate Equitation on the Flat: Individual Open Equitation on the Flat: AQHA Open Reining: 1. Travis Womer, University of Findlay. 2. Christina
Ecker, St. Mary of the Woods College. 3. Charlie Goetz, Morrisville State
College. 4. Whitney Agee, West Texas A & M University. 5. Keith Ceddia,
Ohio State University. 6. Alicia Wittwer, University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Alumni Western Horsemanship: Individual Open Western Horsemanship: AQHA Beginner Western Horsemanship: 1. Jessica Kraemer, Oregon State University. 2. Sarah Joy, University of Nebraska at Lincoln. 3. Crystal Hall, Middle Tennessee State University. 4. Aubrey Kuczerepa, University of Findlay. 5. Danielle Nichter, Ohio State University. 6. Corey Oldroyd, Morrisville State College. AQHA Individual High Point Western Rider Competition: 1. Trevor Dare, University of Findlay. 2. Keith Ceddia, Ohio State University. 3. Sydney Rogers - Goode, University of Oregon. 4. Clairessa Kaler, University of Montana - Western. 5. Meghan Dauler, Cazenovia College. 6. Casey Bennington, Berry College. 7. Cynthia Charleville, Murray State University. 8. Lindsey Salestrom, University of Nebraska at Lincoln. 9. Lauren Erk, Cal Poly - Pomona. 10. Christina Ecker, St. Mary of the Woods College. Sunday, May 6th: Individual Advanced Western Horsemanship: AQHA Intermediate Western Horsemanship: 1. Raffi Kechejian, University of Findlay. 2. Matthew McMurtrey, Middle Tennessee State University. 3. Kayla Feltz, Ohio State University. 4. Chelsea Leatherwood, University of Nebraska at Lincoln. 5. Corey Hayes, Morrisville State College. 6. Vanessa Reed, St. Mary of the Woods College. NRHA Individual Open Reining: Individual Beginner Western Horsemanship: Individual Novice Western Horsemanship: AQHA Open Western Horsemanship: 1. Trevor Dare, University of Findlay. 2. Sara Gibson, Oregon State University. 3. Lindsey Salestrom, University of Nebraska at Lincoln. 4. Christina Ecker, St. Mary of the Woods College. 5. Ashley Kovar, Ohio State University. 6. Whitney Fouts, West Texas A & M University. Hunter Seat Team Totals: Western Team Totals: BONUS COVERAGE - Results of the Collegiate Reining Championships at the Derby
in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on Saturday, May 19th:
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